By now you may be asking why we were assigned these grinder pumps in the first place? County literature says “Where lot elevation is low or the home is a great distance from the county’s right-of-way, a low pressure system that uses a grinder pump will be necessary to move the wastewater from the house uphill to a centrally-located lift station”. Sounds reasonable… but that’s not us in N-3.
It’s all about the money
Well, it turns out the answer is “cost”. The county has said that 216 individual grinder pumps are cheaper than a gravity or vacuum system. After serious questions were raised, the costs are currently being reviewed to see if that’s still the case. After all, some of the data used in making that determination were more than a decade old. Hopefully, the new study will prove more favorable for a vacuum system, but in case the county still dictates grinder pumps, let’s look at what we’ll get:
- The excavation. The first thing you’ll see, after the earthmoving equipment is unloaded, is an excavation in your front
yard. This will be a hole approximately 6’x6’ within 30-40 feet of your house. You get to choose the location, but choose carefully. This choice may have future implications because you will essentially lose the use of your property wherever this pump is installed. 
A visit to an existing grinder pump user’s residence revealed that the homeowner had installed a brick paver drive and stone retainer wall over the cover of the pump. The homeowner admitted to “screwing-up” in the placement of these things, but why should the use of your private property be deemed a “screw-up”? Remember… this device will be not be installed in a utility easement at the roadway, but near your house in your front yard.
- The pump assembly. Next will be the installation of the grinder pump and holding tank assembly. The unit will be set in place by
county workers in the location you have chosen. Remember, you can’t have anything other than sod and “readily movable objects” within five feet of the pump or control box. And the area has to always be accessible to large trucks and service equipment capable of replacing the complete assembly. Once the pump is installed, your plumbing contractor will make the connections from your home to the holding tank and run a pressure pipe to the street.
What else?
In the next post we’ll look at
- power to the control panel
- your cost of operation
- the Maintenance Agreement
Links to source documents:
Guide to Mandatory Sewer Connection
Tags: grinder pumps, sewers
Sarasota N3 Neighborhood 
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